title: Determination of explosives using electrochemically reduced graphene.
abstract: A graphene-based electrochemical sensing platform for sensitive determination of explosive nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) was constructed by means of electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrochemically reduced graphene (ER-GO) adhered strongly onto the GCE surface with a wrinkled morphology that showed a large active surface area. 2,4-Dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), as a model analyte, was detected by using stripping voltammetry, which gave a low detection limit of 42 nmol  L(-1) (signal-to-noise ratio=3) and a wide linear range from 5.49×10(-7) to 1.1×10(-5)  M. Further characterizations by electrochemistry, IR, and Raman spectra confirmed that the greatly improved electrochemical reduction signal of DNT on the ER-GO-modified GC electrode could be ascribed to the excellent electrocatalytic activity and high surface-area-to-volume ratio of graphene, and the strong π-π stacking interactions between 2,4-DNT and the graphene surface. Other explosive nitroaromatic compounds including 1,3-dinitrobenzene (1,3-DNB), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) could also be detected on the ER-GO-modified GC electrode at the nM level. Experimental results showed that electrochemical reduction of GO on the GC electrode was a fast, simple, and controllable method for the construction of a graphene-modified electrode for sensing NACs and other sensing applications.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Ti-Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhen-Huan
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Feng-Bin
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xing-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D004136:Dinitrobenzenes / Q000032:analysis; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004566:Electrodes; D053834:Explosive Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D014303:Trinitrotoluene / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004136:Dinitrobenzenes; D053834:Explosive Agents; D010087:Oxides; D014303:Trinitrotoluene; C016403:2,4-dinitrotoluene; D002244:Carbon; D006108:Graphite; C017906:3-dinitrobenzene